It's the middle of winter, but baseball season is only a few months away. After 14 years of waiting, Missoula will get a crack at the bat to host a major baseball tournament this summer.

"The American Legion State AA baseball tournament is being hosted here in Missoula July 26-31 out at Lindborg-Cregg Field," state tournament director John Yovetich said. "We will be participating, as the host team, the Mavs will be in the tournament as well as seven other teams from across the state and Canada."

The tournament will bring many to Missoula, but it also brings some added costs.

"We are just trying to get an early start on it as quickly as possible," Yovetich said. "We actually already got a $5,000 grant from Destination Missoula, which is an organization in town that helps promote events and tries to bring more events to town. It's funded by tax-on-room nights by local hotels."